Posted - 03/19/2011 : 20:34:23 I'm not a sens fan but have Spezza in a few pool. Unbelievable what this guy is doing with a bunch of AHL'ers.

All his detractors used to say he got his points with a bunch of all stars as line mates. Now that those two all stars is gone or injured, he is still producing. He aso kills penalties, takes all the important draws, plays the PP and puts up points. He's no Datsuyk but not the 1D player people are always complaining about.

Where's the love? Oh yeah, all to busy getting their hopes up on Toronto making the playoffs.

17 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)

Guest9558

Posted - 04/06/2012 : 21:08:23

quote:Originally posted by mcrosier

...he makes just 1 million less than... Ovechkin

Which means the Sens got more bang for their buck than the Caps did. What happened to OV this season?

Alex116

Posted - 04/05/2012 : 14:24:19 Clatts, there's a few more than he said that i'd take as well, but in fairness, he's talking about Spezza earning his contract more than anything. I'd take Toews for example, over him in an instant, however, Spezza has had a better season. Same goes for a guy like Datsyuk, of course, injuries have played a part in both of those guys' years!

Clatts

Posted - 04/05/2012 : 14:13:31 No offence to Spezza but Joshuacanada I would take like 10 guys on that list over him

"Most of the guys that wear them are Europeans and French Guys."Don Cherry on Visors

JOSHUACANADA

Posted - 04/05/2012 : 13:38:32 Ok, I restrained from showing my love of Ottawa. 8 million a season for 83 points, first line center, 1st line powerplay, 1st line penalty kill. And that is 8 million this year with the final 2 years making 6-5 million on a front loaded contract at 7 million cap hit. His high risk/reward offensive passing allows for give-aways, but I think he has lowered his defensive gaffes, if not a lot at least a little.

An argument can be made for 2-3 players on that list this year but no clearcut winner and most have a similar cap hit. Ovi, Crosby, Richards, Gaborik, Marleau, Lecavelier are payed more, he has played more than and he is outperforming them too year over year. Crosby being the only player with a points per game higher, but is making significantly higher $'s too on a better all oround team.

A case can be made for 2 players who's stats this year are higher (Giroux, Neal) which have a lower cap hit, but come contract time bet they sign for similar or higher. Like it or hate it he is the points leader, main center when the game is on the line for Ottawa in all situations and worth the contract cap hit of 7 million a year.

Cyclonis

Posted - 04/04/2012 : 15:54:06 First off, i am in this thread taking a look at possible late round picks for my playoff pool.

Spezza at this moment has 33G and 50A and is a +12. Not too shabby...Maybe some haters will come back and show him some love. And YES Ottawa has locked up a playoff spot...WTG Sens!

mcrosier

Posted - 03/24/2011 : 06:40:41

quote:Originally posted by Sensfan101

If you say Jason Spezza is poor defensively you clearly haven't watched any Sens games recently. Maybe two years ago and a little bit last year but now he is a solid two way player and a great penalty killer.

there are times i wish i hadn't been watching the team over the last few years but maybe i have been missing something. i would agree that Spezza has improved his defensive game but i guess we can disagree as to how much improvement he has made. there was a time he never went to his own end of the rink and now he does. but in my opinion he is still a poor defensive player. he blocks more shots than he used to but right now he trails most of the Sens forwards in this area and this includes the players who have played the same number of games as he has played such as: Ruutu and Kelly who never play as many minutes as Spezza and of course are no longer with the team. Blocks of course is just a stat. For me it is other parts of his game that are lacking. He almost never has defensive position on any players when he is back checking. He is not able to keep opposing forwards to the outside when they are driving the net. He rarely lifts the stick of an opposing player to take the puck and he can not contain any opposing players along the boards. He is also prone to chasing opposing players behind his own net and he is very slow at picking up the free man. He is still often found standing alone in his own end and not competing with opposing players in the slot.

Has he improved at penalty killing. I would say yes, I just think he went from poor to passable. His best defense is winning faceoffs in his own end and his offensive skills help keep the puck at the other end of the rink

Is he a terrible player. No. Is he overpaid for what he produces? In my opinion yes he is. Is he the most overpaid? No, I agree that there are others ahead of him on that list. But he makes a big salary and is not a complete player and he is no longer one of the best offensive players in the league. Would he do better with a better supporting cast. Well I am sure he would. How many of the teams making the playoffs have a better 1st line center making less money. I think at least half of them do and it may be even more.

But I would rather have him than the players who have left town this year. And as we can see from the lack of production they brought to their new teams, they may be regretting picking up Ottawa's cast offs.

Is Spezza the reason the Senators have fallen apart? No he is not but he hasn't helped the situation much. As with all teams the main problem has been management. Making poor trades, for a while drafting poorly with the picks they had, signing players at too high a salary and for too long, cycling through a string of coaches and letting the wrong players go. But there is hope in the future. There are once again promising young players coming up and maybe Anderson can hold down the back end for a while. And Spezza will almost certainly be part of the possible resurgence. This time he will have the opportunity to play the role of mentor and team leader and veteran.

slozo

Posted - 03/23/2011 : 05:09:09 As a guy with a hate-on for Ottawa, I never disliked Spezza - I thought he was a very consistent, top skilled player. Guys like that, unless they are horrible defensively - and he isn't - you don't get them for defence.

Heatley, on the other hand, I hated. He was a bit of a floater at times back in the day, and now away from Spezza, he has transformed himself into a super-floater. To me, that says that Spezza actually improved him, and the numbers bear that out.

I wouldn't take Spezza now at his current contract, but . . . he is a solid first line player that could really boost up a sniper's game, and imagining him with a Kessel-type player (pure sniper), he'd be up above the 80 point mark again in a full season.

So no, I don't have any love for Spezza, but I do have respect for his game. Tough to play with a bag of pucks though, and as a Leafs fan, I know all about that, having watched Sundin play in similar situations while getting slagged.

"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug

Guest6087

Posted - 03/22/2011 : 23:10:27 Spezza is a bag of trash. Racks up the points in the games that don't matter in garbage time. I've never seen a guy have so many 4 point games like the islanders, thrashers, etc. Also note he consistently gets injured, makes three inexcusably terrible back passes a game and makes way, way too much money (7 million?). Spezza is the reason Ottawa won't be competitive for years to come.

Sensfan101

Posted - 03/22/2011 : 15:21:56 If you say Jason Spezza is poor defensively you clearly haven't watched any Sens games recently. Maybe two years ago and a little bit last year but now he is a solid two way player and a great penalty killer.

You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take Wayne Gretzky

Guest9103

Posted - 03/22/2011 : 05:14:16 People used to say he relied on his linemates? If anything, Ottawa fans thought Heatley was the bum, even before he left, because his only skill is to stand still and wait for a pass to one-time.

His real problems are consistency, his love for no-look passes that more often than not turn into giveaways and his salary.

Guest4278

Posted - 03/21/2011 : 17:42:05

quote:Originally posted by mcrosier

recent stats:

2008-2009: 73 points in 82 games, and -142009-2010: 57 points in 60 games, and 0 +/-2010-2011: 42 points in 52 games and -10

not terrible stats but he is making 8 million, he still makes the terrible behind the back passes to the other team.

Off the top of my head I can't think of many players making $8M but Heatley comes to mind. I'm sure Hossa too with his massive front loaded contract. Lecavalier at $10M probably makes more than everyone.

So would you take Spezza over those guys? Given the statistics that I'm seeing, I would. Yes even over Hossa. I don't watch enough sens game to know if he has stopped the blind drop passes, but for being -10 on a brutal defensive team isn't too shabby.

Recently he is the first line penalty killer out there. Seems like he is rounding out to be a pretty good all round player.

mcrosier

Posted - 03/21/2011 : 11:53:10 the cap hit is 7mill and he is paid 8 mill

i think the point was made that his contributions are not on a par with many players making less than he does.

at his salary he is unlikely to go anywhere. but i imagine he seems like a bargain compared to Gomez

Odin

Posted - 03/21/2011 : 09:49:06 Actually, he makes $7M a year. He is only 27 so could still improve and has already put up 3 85+point seasons. His production lately has fallen some, but that could be said about the team overall. There has been a lot of turmoil.

He seems to have some chemistry with Butler, and that may be good going forward. But his overall game has improved. His +/- is 4 years positive and 3 years negative with 1 even. Not too bad, but his one major flaw to me is the blind behind the back pass that inevitably ends up as a giveaway.

If he stops doing that it will improve his overall game some more.

If the Sens ever want to trade him to the Habs, I would be quite happy to see him setting them up for Cammalleri.

mcrosier

Posted - 03/21/2011 : 06:17:51it doesn't matter much in most hockey pools but one of the big issues with Jason Spezza is that he makes $8 million a season. he has no physical game and is poor defensively. he is however a good face-off man

recent stats:

2008-2009: 73 points in 82 games, and -142009-2010: 57 points in 60 games, and 0 +/-2010-2011: 42 points in 52 games and -10

not terrible stats but he is making 8 million, he still makes the terrible behind the back passes to the other team.

Posted - 03/21/2011 : 04:28:38 He is one of the most uhderrated players in the league.He puts up with a lot of negative talk about him and just goes out night after night and puts points on the board.I'm no Ott. fan but he is one of the elite players doing it all on a s***ty team.

Guest0218

Posted - 03/20/2011 : 19:37:30 His problem is not a lack of skill, that's for sure. But he definitely has some problems with consistency and motivation. Just look at his last two seasons.

This year;20 points in 32 games before his injury22 points in 20 games since returning from his injury

Last year;19 points in 30 games before an injury38 points in 30 games after an injury

He seems to be able to score once Ottawa has been effectively eliminated from playoff contention...

FutureKesler

Posted - 03/20/2011 : 17:32:57 Spezza's not great, but he does get the job done. Good point with the AHL players.